Fun Beer Stuff

The newest issue of Mutineer Magazine arrived at my doorstep yesterday and in it (on page 36) is an article entitled Beverage 2.0: Beer Blogs with a list of blogs worth reading. The story highlights and recommends a handful of beer-themed blogs, including niche giants hop-talk.com, Lyke 2 Drink, and yours truly: BlogAboutBeer.com! Each highlight features “three recent posts”, a …

It appears that a pretty ingenious group of folks in the Windy City have combined two of my favorite things: pub crawls and Snuggies. On Saturday April 18th, the nearly 21oo people who have signed up (so far!) through SnuggiePubCrawl.com will trek across Chicago in their sleeved blankets to multiple bars, each with live entertainment and drink specials. And the …

Remember last August when Jessica Simpson started pimping out beer? Yeah, me either. But one Michigan brewery is hoping that celebs, regardless of level of celeb-dom, will still drive sales. Enter the Michigan Brewing Co. and none other than Kid Rock. The difference, though, between the Kid Rock deal and the Jessica Simpson deal is, however, it sounds like Rock’s …

Looks like Ames, Iowa-based Olde Main Brewing Co. is having a bit of a spell of writer’s block and is looking to beer lovers for help. Help in the form of naming its nameless stout, that is. In return, the author of the winning name will get free Olde Main beer for a year, plus a party and brewery tour …

Well, like usual, yesterday’s Super Bowl was full of beer commercials. Even if they were all for pretty terrible beer (but what’d you expect?), it doesn’t mean they’re all terrible commercials. Although I must admit that this year was probably the most disappointing year for Super Bowl commercials in recent memory. Anywho, here are the beer-themed commercials from the Big …

As I’m sure you all know, tomorrow night is the Super Bowl (the 43rd to be exact) — the biggest televised event in America and one of the best publicly-supported drinking events of the year. But while Budweiser, Miller and Coors may be the ones dominating commercial air time, many of us have picked up (or picked out) some extra-special …

First off, I wanted to thank everyone for the generous outpouring of support after the loss of my mom. The letters of condolence I received here, on Facebook and via email were all very touching and very much appreciated. Needless to say, I have an awful lot of catching up to do — both online and in the real world. …

This Saturday January 17th will mark a great day in the growing emergance of craft beer on the popular microblogging & social networking platform Twitter. At five o’clock PST (that’s 8:00pm for those of us here on the East Coast), beer and Twitter enthusiasts the world-over will gather at Twitter Taste Live — a site originally launched to do real-time …

Yeah, you read that right. Looks like The Portsmouth Brewery will be giving away an entire care (and then some) of their famous Kate The Great Imperial Stout (the beer which was named the number two beer in the world by BeerAdvocate last year) on the next “Kate Day” which will take place on Monday, February 9, 2009, at precisely …

Some breweries have some pretty damn cool bottle caps and it’s always a shame to just toss them in the garbage after every beer. So I’ve decided to turn a few of my favorite caps (or favorite breweries) into a little art project so I can continue to show them off, well after the beer is gone: Bottle Cap Magnets. …

Beer folks are all over Twitter these days — @beersage is working on An Intro to Craft Beer on Twitter and @chipperdave mused a few weeks ago that Twitter is in fact the “New Beer Pub”. Hell, even I’m an active Tweeter. So when I saw a brief write-up of a new service called Just Tweet It on Mashable.com this …

In addition to my own resolutions, at the end of 2007 I also made some predictions for the beer industry as a whole in 2008. And I fared much better with those than I did with my own resolutions. My three predictions were: The price of beer will go up There will be more breweries “going green” The giant breweries …

Exactly one year ago I made some Beer-in-the-New-Year resolutions for 2008 (part 1 & part 2). So, how did I do? Let’s just say that I should be ashamed… Part One was a list of five beers I was hoping to try in 2008. Here’s how I did: St. Bernardus Abt 12 – fail Stone Brewing Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale …

Monique Haakensen, a 26-year-old PhD candidate from the University of Saskatchewan may just be the beer industry’s next savior. As you may or may not know, The University of Saskatchewan is home to one of only two labs in the world that studies beer spoilage — enter Haakensen. According to Montreal’s The West Island Chronicle, Haakensen has helped discover three …

I sure do love “Top 10” lists – especially top 10 lists that pertain to beer. So when I found two of them today, I was pretty thrilled. The first, from Denver’s Westword.com, is a list of “10 Holiday Beers to Help you Forget 2008” (don’t we all need that!) compiled by Jonathan Shikes. The ten beers on the list …

Let me start by wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a very happy holidays! I’ll do some more “looking back on the year that was” posts next week before New Year’s but for now just the well-wishing. I hope that this holiday you find yourself out of harm’s way, able to put the stresses of daily life …

On December 18th at 8:00pm, The Discovery Channel’s “How Stuff Works” will air an hour-long feature on the essentials of beer making. The episode will feature footage of Charlie Papazian’s home hop garden, homebrew “garage” beer stash and sampling procedures. As well as Dogfish Head owner Sam Calagione and his perspectives on “how stuff works” for the small brewer. So …

While we don’t all have the accent, the Non Sequitur folks were pretty spot-on with the artifacts that represent the greatest accomplishments of human existence: beer & duct tape. But what makes this particular comic strip even more fun is its reference to local favorite Shipyard Ale. Since Non Sequitur is a nationally syndicated strip, any reference to craft beer …

If you’ve been here before, you already know I’m a big fan of beer & food pairing, especially with holiday meals. So, needless to say, I was psyched to find this fun little interactive menu from Michigan’s MLive.com today: Winter is the time when Michiganians like to “nest” indoors with our favorite comfort foods, to gather with family around the …

I certainly don’t want to steal any thunder or enthusiasm away from the awesome photo contest Alan (A Good Beer Blog) and Stonch (Stonch’s Beer Blog) are colaberating on, for sure, but I couldn’t help but point out an gorgeous photo essay the folks at sloshspot have put together (one incredible piece of link bait which I am happy to …

You know craft beer has gone big time when there is a feature-length exposé about it in The New Yorker. Well, that just happened. And what better way to ring Better Beer into the world of what’s what than a talk with Dogfish Founder Sam Calagione. The Article — entitled A Better Brew: The rise of extreme beer by Burkhard …

As the Thanksgiving holiday looms near here in the states, the Interwebs are abuzz with stories about what best to do with your beer during your holiday festivities. First, the Dallas Morning News released a list of what beers to drink and when during a holiday party. First, Aperitif: As guests arrive, hand them something crisp and cold, light as …

I was lucky enough to receive a free copy of Idunware Beer recently and have been having a good deal of fun trying it out. Idunware Beer is a download-able computer program which allows users to index all of their past beer experiences (good and bad) – specific beer they’ve bought, breweries they’ve visited, stores they’ve bought from, and so …

Happy Election Day to all the U.S. readers! I hope each and every one of you got out today and voted. If not, there’s still time to do so – go perform your patriotic duty. If you don’t vote, you don’t deserve a beer tonight! History is truly being made today in this country, I hope you’re a part of …

I was in a Trader Joe’s in Darien Connecticut this morning picking up a few items for lunch — minding my own business and not talking to anyone — when an old man stopped me and said, “I got the word (nodding towards his wife), help with the groceries or I won’t get any beer!” Very confused, I responded with …

I always knew that we Americans drink an awful lot of beer annually, but I never really realized how much we really consumed. That is until reading a prett neat (or scary, depending on your point of view) recent blog post on sloshspot.com (thanks to Wren for the head’s up). According to the article, we drink Some 200 million barrels …

You’ll have to excuse the lack of “news” postings around here lately but it’s tough to keep current with beer news when I have limited Internet access and am on the road for “work” in a different town in a different New England state each week. That being said, I found myself in the Three Needs Brewery & Pub in …

Last week during a visit to Burlington, Vermont we were lucky enough to get a tour of the Magic Hat brewery (which I later learned isn’t really done right now due to the on-going construction). Our tour guide Chris showed us around, let us taste lots of great beer from Magic Hat and their organic off-shoot Orlio; we learned all …

As you may or may not remember, Dave of Tailgating Ideas won the grand prize of a flip video camera (care of MarketLeverage) on the contest that took place ’round here a couple of weeks ago. Well, the camera showed up on his doorstep yesterday and he made the following kick ass little video thank you, which I couldn’t help …

If you live on the east coast, chances are you’re rained in tonight and what better way to spend a wet Friday evening than watching the first 2008 Presidentail Debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. And what better way to make it through the debate than by playing a fun little drinking game with a small group of your …

I’m stopped half-way between some high school visits in Northern Connecticut and some mini college fairs in southern Massachusetts but I wanted to point out an interview with Russian River Brewing Company’s Vinnie Cilurzo on CHOW.com. Vinnie Cilurzo is regarded as one of the most innovative microbrewers in the country. He’s often credited with inventing the Double IPA, an ultrahoppy …

There was an article in today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution entitled Is Beer Becoming the New Wine? The article didn’t say much and was mostly just a press release for an upcoming beer dinner at a place called Twain’s in Decatur. Although the article did preface the information about the beer dinner by saying, The nose is just a little bit forward, …

Worldofbeer.com this weekend has a feature which lists 10 food and beer pairings NOT to try (an interesting twist) and why. And nicely, below each non-pairing is a recommendation of what to try instead. The 10 DON’Ts were: 10. spicy food and mainstream American lager 9. salty food and malty beer 8. sweet desserts and bitter beer 7. brie and …

Well, it’s been a fun first 11 days of the month and the response to ‘The Mother of All Beer Blogging Contests’ was great; I’d definitely consider it a success. And now, as my own 24th birthday comes to a close, I’d like to announce the 5 winners of the contest. First, the winner of the 5th place package (A …

It’s great to see the influx of activity on the ‘Mother of all Beer Blogging Contests‘ that has happened today but, with a little over 24 hours to go in the contest, I wanted to clarify a few rules because I know they’ve been overlooked and I want to make sure everyone gets their fair chance at the prizes. You …

Just wanted to write a reminder that the contest I’m sponsoring here on BlogAboutBeer ends THIS THURSDAY September 11th at 10pm EST. So far there have only been a handful on entries so your chances of winning one of the 5 overall prize packages is pretty darn good. So, why not enter? There are over $500 worth of prizes and …

Imbibe Magazine today announced its picks for the 100 best places to drink beer across the United States. Imbibe’s editors and readers set off in search of the best beer spots this country has to offer, and three spots in Maine made the list. According to a press release put out by Imbibe – a wide array of beer bars, …

This is it one and all – I know you’ve been waiting with baited breath for weeks and now it’s time. In conjunction with the first year anniversary of this blog, It is with great pleasure that I announce the official BlogAboutBeer.com “Mother of all Beer Blog Contests” with well over $500 in sweet, sweet prizes and schwag! First, the …

Ever wanted to own your very own brewery but just didn’t have the start-up capital? Well now, thanks to the help of BeerBankRoll (and tens of thousands of other members) for an investment of just $50 you can own a piece of a brewery. Chicago-based BeerBankRoll is founded on a “crowdfunding” concept where its members are hoping to raise $100,000 …

Today, August 2th, marks the one year anniversary of BlogAboutBeer.com. When I got into blogging a year ago, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. The site was a mess, my stories were a mess and I didn’t think I would (or should) stick with it. Now a year later, it’s grown into a full-fledged obsession. I’ve met …

You may remember way back in November of ’07 when a study was released which claimed that natives of Central America were drinking alcoholic beverages — or beer — made from cacao (the seeds which chocolate comes from) even before 1000 BC, 500 years earlier than previously thought. Well now it looks like label-pushing brewer Dogfish Head is going to …

The Internet has been abuzz today of news that failed singer actress reality tv star entrepreneur pop star Jessica Simpson has teamed up with Dallas’ Stampede Brewing Company to become the new face of Stampede Light Plus. Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, Simpson is reportedly taking on a 15 percent stake in the company in return for …

psdtuts.com has a neat tutorial today on how to draw a glass half-full of bubbly beer in PhotoShop: In this tutorial, we’re going to draw a beer glass with some beer in it. We’ll create the shiny curly glass with reflection, put some beer in it, add some bubbles, and finally we’ll make the shadow and the reflections. Meanwhile, I …